Chapter 167: The Sky Is High and the Sea Is Vast

But Xiao Yan was a prince. How could he not know that Murong Ming and the others had left through Jinghua Gate today?

Shen Nanyuan cast him a sidelong glance.

“Tell me. Why did you go to Jinghua Gate?”

“...” Xiao Yan smiled, though there was a hint of pressure in his gaze. “The Second Prince went to Jinghua Gate as well.”

The hand holding Shen Nanyuan’s teacup paused.

“...”

So he had gone there specifically to keep watch.

“If I showed myself, it would have been inconvenient for me to come to the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence, so I stayed out of sight.”

Shen Nanyuan nodded silently.

In truth, she had already found a way to break off her engagement with the Second Prince without Xiao Yan’s help. Once she found the evidence, given Shen Yi’s temperament, he would certainly take her straight to His Majesty and decisively demand that the betrothal be annulled. At that point, she would be free.

Shen Yi had always wanted to keep her from being bound by conventional rules. After Shen Siyan’s betrothal had been bestowed, he had sought her out and solemnly told her that she must live the life she wanted in the future. What had happened with Shen Siyan and Meng Chuyue had made her understand that so long as she remained in the capital, she would never be able to escape her present circumstances.

The capital and the imperial palace were enormous cages.

Xiao Yan frowned. Seeing her expression, he suddenly felt a trace of unease.

“What are you thinking about?”

Shen Nanyuan came back to herself and gently shook her head. “Nothing.”

But the answer clearly did not satisfy Xiao Yan.

He walked over and stopped before her, looking down at her with a distinctly cool expression.

“Hmm?”

He leaned toward her and, without warning, lifted her bodily into his arms. Then he sat down and placed her on his lap, his arm clamped firmly around her waist. There was a vague note of danger in his voice.

“But from the look of you, it seems it is not nothing.”

“I do not like it when you keep things from me,” Xiao Yan said.

“...” Shen Nanyuan’s face instantly felt as though it had been set aflame. She kicked and struggled, trying to get down, but Xiao Yan’s arm was powerful. No matter how much she twisted, it did not loosen in the slightest.

Xiao Yan caught her chin between his fingers.

“What were you thinking about just now?”

He clearly would not let the matter go until she answered.

“Let me go!” Shen Nanyuan said in exasperation. “What if someone sees us? I am still the Second Prince’s betrothed.”

“And what of it?” A dark gleam flickered through Xiao Yan’s eyes. “He has not many good days left.”

Then the light in his eyes softened slightly. “Tell me. Once you do, I will let you go.”

Shen Nanyuan: “...”

She pressed her lips tightly together and said irritably, “What else could I have been thinking about? Of course I was thinking about Chuyue’s situation. She just left the capital, and I was already feeling miserable. The Third Prince is terribly overbearing—he insists on asking what everyone is thinking.”

“I do not care what other people are thinking,” Xiao Yan said. “I care only about what you are thinking.”

Shen Nanyuan bit her lip and glared at him before saying shyly, “I have told you everything. Will you not let me go now?”

“Hmm...” Xiao Yan sounded utterly unconcerned. “I am letting you go.”

Yet from the look of him, he had no intention of releasing her at all.

Just as Shen Nanyuan anxiously glanced toward the outside, afraid someone might walk in and see them, a hand gently stroked the crown of her head. While she was still stunned, Xiao Yan abandoned his earlier indifference, and his voice softened.

“Do not be sad.” He gazed at her, his eyes filled with tenderness and concern. “I am here beside you. I always will be.”

Perhaps because he rarely comforted others, his words sounded somewhat stiff.

But his eyes were bright, seeming even more dazzling than the stars in the sky. Shen Nanyuan suddenly felt guilty and hurriedly lowered her gaze.

“...Mm.”

Yet another thought had already taken root in her heart.

—

For some reason, Wu Miaofu had been unusually well-behaved lately.

Unlike before, when she often left the residence for places no one knew, she had hardly gone out since her coming-of-age ceremony.

Shen Nanyuan suspected that the Second Prince had simply been too busy recently to leave the palace and meet her in secret.

According to Shen Siyan, the Second Prince had been overwhelmed with affairs lately. Xiao Yan already held an absolute advantage—not only was he the legitimate son, he also possessed military achievements. Most of the elder officials at court leaned toward Xiao Yan, so naturally the Second Prince had neither the time nor the inclination to sneak out and meet Wu Miaofu.

Apart from that, there were also the joyous preparations within the palace and at the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence.

The Grand Princess’s wedding to Shen Siyan was fast approaching, and both the palace and the duke’s residence were busier than ever. Shen Siyan, however, was remarkably idle, as though he were not the one getting married.

Shen Nanyuan glanced at Shen Siyan, who was drinking tea beside her, and rubbed her brow.

“Are you really this free?”

“Of course,” Shen Siyan said. “Mother is handling everything else. There is not much I can help with. I only need to show up on the day of the wedding.”

Shen Nanyuan paused.

“You do not like the Grand Princess. How will the two of you get along after she marries into the duke’s residence?”

She truly could not imagine what it would feel like to spend an entire lifetime with someone she did not love. It must be terribly difficult.

“We shall treat each other with courtesy and let nature take its course.”

Shen Siyan said, “No one knows what the future will bring. It is enough to live each day well as it comes.”

Shen Nanyuan nodded.

Then Shen Siyan spoke again. The flippancy had vanished from his voice, leaving him unexpectedly solemn.

“Yuanyuan, I have said some of this to you before, but before my wedding, I still want to tell you once more.”

“Once your engagement to the Second Prince is dissolved, you must live the life you want.”

His brows and eyes were dark and profound.

“It is enough that I alone have been bound by an imperial betrothal. I do not want you to become another pawn His Majesty uses to win over the Duke of Zhenguo’s household. Father and I will take care of everything else. You need only follow your heart.”

“The sky is vast and the sea wide. Go wherever you wish.”

He spoke with such gravity that Shen Nanyuan’s heart grew warm. She nodded vigorously.

“Thank you, Big Brother.”

It was precisely because she had Shen Siyan and Shen Yi that she could do whatever she pleased and live according to her own wishes.

Perhaps Shen Siyan had long since seen through her thoughts. That was why he had said all this.

“There is nothing to thank me for. You are my sister, the only eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household. Naturally, your brother will spoil you.”

“Even after I marry, that will not change.”

Shen Nanyuan’s eyes filled with emotion.

“Then I will stop arguing with you from now on!”

Shen Siyan: “...I am truly grateful.”

She had said that line so many times already. It had never done any good.

A month after Meng Chuyue left the Kingdom of Shengqi, Shen Siyan married the Grand Princess as well. The entire duke’s residence was filled with celebration, and festive color spread throughout the capital.